


The Family You Choose

by oshunanat



Series: Ketchbriel [9]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Family, Feelings, Fluff, Food Sex, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-22 07:24:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20870423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oshunanat/pseuds/oshunanat
Summary: As news of his engagement spreads, Ketch gets well wishes from sources expected and unexpected. Feels, fluff, food sex (and not in that order).





	1. Chapter 1

As Ketch watch his phone ring, he tried to decide what surprised him more: that the caller had managed to find the unlisted number under a relatively new pseudonym or that they were allowing their own true number to show through.

He sighed as he hit answer. The caller could be quite persistent when it suited.

“Mother,” he said politely, but coolly.

“Arthur,” she replied equally politely. An air of distance hung over them both. Their relationship had been strained, even before his first death. “It’s been a while.”

Gabriel entered the room, tilting his head at his fiancé’s tone.

“So it has been,” he said.

“It needn’t have been. It was disappointing that I found out that reports of your demise had been overstated through angel briefings.”

“As if you wouldn’t have taken the chance to lay low had our situations been reversed.”

She didn’t reply.

“May I ask how?”

“You wouldn’t approve,” Ketch replied.

“You would be surprised,” she said. “No one wants to outlive their child. I am happy that you are still with us, Arthur, even if it took magic to keep it that way.”

“As lovely a sentiment as that is, news of my being alive has been known for some months and only now you’re bothering to let it be known?”

“You could have easily called us,” she rebutted.

“You’re dodging the question.”

She sighed. “I just wanted to let you know I’m happy for you that you’ve found someone. I was worried about you after Toni didn’t work out.”

“You’ve heard about that?”

“The Men of Letters intelligence network never sleeps. There’s a meeting scheduled to discuss whether we should send a gift as a peace offering.”

He laughed, startling Puck who had been napping next to Ketch, causing him to pet the dog reassuringly. “Truly?”

“Your reappearance and new…affiliation for lack of a better term has been quite divisive. Of course the are the hardliners who would be all too happy to have you killed for using magic to come back or for aligning yourself with an archangel. But on the other hand, there is a smaller group – mostly some of the younger members, but some of the old guard as well – that argue that you did die in the line of duty and you _were_ an integral part of Lucifer finally being put down for good so that if anyone deserves an honorable retirement it would be use.”

Ketch listened with half-an ear, more interested in continuing to give Puck scritches. It was adorable how into it Puck got into it.

“How nice to not be feared and loathed for once,” he remarked idly.

“Would you feel better if I told you you were?”

He snorted. “I honestly no longer care,” he admitted, the weight of the truth behind that statement surprising him given how much he’d wrapped up his identity in the Men of Letters since he’d been a school boy.

She didn’t really say anything. She was proud of the work they’d done, but didn’t always approve of their methods – something he’d discerned over the years by what she _didn’t_ say more than what she did. It made sussing out how she really felt about her life’s work a little difficult. It seemed that working for the Men of Letters made everyone experts at hiding how they felt.

“Well,” she said. “Regardless. If you were to get an engagement present, what would you want?”

“You don’t have to.”

“Humor me.”

“We’re not terribly domestic, but Gabriel has been making noises about getting one of those stand mixers. Says he wants to try his hand at baking.” Honestly, wondered if that wasn’t a disaster waiting to happen. Well, he supposed that Gabriel could put out any fires he accidentally lit if it came to that.

“Duly noted.”

Puck barked. He wanted to go outside and play. He could use the exercise himself.

“And who is that barking?”

“His name is Puck,” Ketch said, sounding the warmest he’d been the entire call. “A gift from Gabriel’s nephew, Jack.”

“His nephew?”

“Lucifer’s son, nice kid. He was a gift to declare him the winner of a mini-golf skill shot contest between him, Gabriel and their Father, Chuck.”

Her voice squeaked. “Oh!” she said. “How lovely.” 

Ketch had to admit, he enjoyed hearing her squirm. “He’s a wonderful pup, and he’s almost as high energy as my fiancé and it’s time for a trip to the park.”

“Well, that sounds like a lovely afternoon. I’ll let you get going then,” she said.  
  
“Thank you, mother.”

“And Arthur?” she said.

“Yes?”

“I would be honored if I could meet your new family sometime. It has been too long since we’ve seen each other.”

“And whose fault was that?” he asked.

“Please, Arthur. Just consider it.”

He made a non-committal noise.

“That’s all I ask,” she said.

“Have a pleasant evening, mother.”

“You too.”

He hung up the phone, not feeling entirely sure about how he felt. He looked up to finding Gabriel standing there. He wondered how long his fiancé had been standing there.

“Come on,” Gabriel said as he held up Puck’s leash. “Let’s go to the dog park. I think it’ll do as much good for you as it will for Puck.”

Puck jumped in a circle in excitement.

“Let me change into some running gear?”

Gabriel smirked. “You know I like you in shorts.”

Ketch rolled his eyes affectionally. “No jumping me until after we get home.”

“I make no such promises.”

He laughed, feeling some of the tension already start to bleed from himself. Gabriel always seemed to know exactly what he needed.

*

Ketch had managed to put the call out of his head.

To decide how he felt about the call, he’d have to decide how he felt about his mother calling out to try and reconnect with him. A part of him understood her concerns – he was all too keenly aware how much his career had changed him – and a part of him remained angry that only now that he’d again been deemed acceptable that she deigned to talk to him. Both sides seemed to make compelling arguments and without any way to settle it, he’d hoped that by just not thinking about it, it would disappear back under the rug and he could instead to continue to focus on the family he chose.

Then the doorbell rang.

Puck, like so many dogs, _loved_ when the doorbell rang, and was only too happy to endlessly bark at the door until was answered.

“Sit, Puck!”

The dog just barked happily in return.

The training very much remained a work in progress.

He opened the door.

“Delivery,” the main said as he indicated two sizable packages at his feet. “Please sign.”

Ketch frowned, but signed. He hadn’t ordered anything of late, but Gabriel was a complete Amazon Prime addict. Anything was possible with his fiancé.

“Be careful with that one,” the driver advised. “It’s heavier than it looks.”

Ketch nodded. “Thanks for the warning.”

While he waited for the driver to pop back into his truck, he examined the mystery boxes. They’d somehow managed to be delivered completely pristine, only one of the corners bearing any signs of its time in transport, a miracle in of itself. The label was a completely ordinary printed sticker and nothing about the package gave him any reason to be suspicious, beyond the fact that he wasn’t sure who the shipper was. The return address was listed, but the sender hadn’t mentioned a name that Ketch recognized.

He let out a sigh. Perhaps he was getting paranoid in his old age.

“Who was that?” Gabriel asked as he descended the stares.

“A courier,” Ketch replied. “Did you order anything recently and not mention it?”

“No,” Gabriel said. “I vowed to stay off of Amazon when drunk, remember?”

The last time Gabriel had done that, he’d ended up with a box of random crap that was supposedly worth a thousand dollars but in reality, contained an alarmingly high number of dubious quality sex-toys. The box and its contents still sat in the garage while Gabriel engaged in a dispute with Amazon over the accuracy of the content listings. Ketch suspected the seller would end up getting some Just Desserts if Gabriel didn’t get his money back. It wasn’t that they _needed_ the money. It was the principal of the thing.

The phone call suddenly popped back into his head. “She didn’t.”

He whipped out his phone and did a google search and determined that the shipper was apparently a seller of high-end kitchen goods.

“She did,” he said with a sigh. “I think,” Ketch said, “these are an engagement gift.”

“Oooh,” Gabriel said. “Anything fun?”

He snorted. “I mentioned that you’d thought about getting one of those fancy stand mixers.”

“I did,” his fiancé agreed. “Once.”

Ketch pulled out a knife from the utensil drawer and carefully slid it along the tape of the heavier box. With Gabriel’s help, he shimmied the appliance from its container.

“Oooh,” Gabriel said. “Shiny!”

It was a sleek dark silver model and would fit in perfectly with the modern white and gray kitchen.

“What’s in the other box?” the archangel asked as Ketch began slicing through the tape.

“There appear to be a half-dozen attachments and some cookery books,” Ketch replied as he pulled box after box out. “Pasta makers, ice cream makers, some kind of scale.”

“Now I have no reason to not try baking!” Gabriel said sounding excited.

“Except burning the house down around us.”

“Ye of little faith!”

“You lit a kitchen towel on fire the last time you made toast,” he reminded the archangel.

“And I put it out!” Gabriel retorted. “Oh hey,” he said. “There’s a card!”

Ketch instantly recognized the heavy vellum for what it was, Men of Letters stationary.

“She wasn’t lying,” he said sounding surprised.

“She who?”

“My mother,” Ketch said. “She said there were those who wanted to thank me for my part in ridding the world of Lucifer.” He used the knife to cut through the seal holding the card shut. “I served as the boogey man for the Men of Letters for decades. Grateful and my name don’t exactly get uttered in the same sentence all too often.”

The cardstock was heavy and the script was neatly penned and written by an honest-to-Father fountain pen, very clearly written by a legacy who would have come up through the preferred feeder schools for Kendrick’s. It wasn’t signed; but Ketch wouldn’t expect it to be. Though it was a fairly safe bet to assume that they wouldn’t be ratted out to someone Ketch clearly disliked, Ketch was still Ketch and they were technically violating his request to be left alone.

“I hate to ask, but how do you know it wasn’t from your mom?”

Ketch picked up one of the books and started flipping through its pages.

“Not her handwriting, and she was never the sort to try and buy my affections. We were well enough off that I was never wanting for anything and even though they put in their fair share of long hours, they were able to do so from home, so they were still able to have supper with me most nights so there was no need to make up for absences with goods,” he said absently. “I think that’s why she was so disappointed when I wound up in the field and never made any moves to switch into research.”

Gabriel asked as he picked up the card.

_Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials. We hope this small token of our esteem serves you well in your new life_.

“How very British,” Gabriel opined. “Did you want to be in research?” Ketch rarely spoke about his time in the Men of Letters, and Gabriel wasn’t one to push. He wasn’t fond of talking about some of the uglier parts of his past either, and he appreciated that Ketch didn’t push him on it either.

Ketch looked up, and looked torn. “I’m not even sure anymore. My mom certainly wanted me there. My dad wanted me to go into the field, to live vicariously through me after an injury sustained during a mission forced him to switch tracks. I was a teenage boy so of course I wanted the excitement of the field. Plus everyone knew that if you wanted to climb to the top that you had to come from the field as books only would get you so far. That said, I hadn’t really ruled out research _entirely_ until well…you know. The powers were _so_ impressed with how clean the kill had been. Never seen anything like it in their years. I showed so much _potential_ that my fate was more or less sealed right then and there. The following trimester my studies were all tracked to skills that would serve me in the field and that was that.” He paused, then finally added, “I don’t regret the things that I’ve done, not even the people I’ve killed who fell out of line because you _have_ to have full faith of your brethren when you’re hunting. I only regret that I didn’t have more agency in getting to that point, if that makes sense?”

“Completely. You played your part.” Gabriel smiled wryly. “You’d made a good little soldier of Heaven.”

Ketch wrinkled his nose. “Is that a compliment or an insult?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Michael was doing the best that he could too.”

A heaviness settled over the kitchen.

“You know, only we can make engagement gifts feel so serious,” Ketch finally joked.

“So what do we do about it?” Gabriel asked.

“How about we break in these shiny new toys?” Ketch suggested. “We have some heavy cream in the fridge. There is a whisk attachment. How hard can it be to make fresh whipped cream?”

*

The answer was: it wasn’t. It took more time to get the mixer out of the box and figure out how to hook up the whisk than to actually whip the cream.

Gabriel’s tongue licked up over a fresh dollop of cream that he’d placed on Ketch’s nipple. “Delicious,” he declared. “One of the best ideas we’ve had in _ages_.”

Ketch whimpered, his hands gripped their headboard, having been told in no uncertain terms that If he didn’t hold on, then Gabriel’s grace would help, and Ketch always loved a challenge.

Food play wasn’t Ketch’s favorite, but Gabriel adored it, and by inviting Gabriel to it, he invited Gabriel to take over for the afternoon. Ketch’s head was a mess of emotions he’d successfully repressed for ages and he wasn’t exactly fond of the notion of them suddenly come back to the fore now. He’d hoped that giving himself over to his fiancé he’d be able to forget them again, if for a while.

It worked.

Of course, he wasn’t sure how _anyone_ could have had coherent thoughts in that moment. His nipples were red and erect from what felt like endless teasing, his cock had been hard and leaking against his belly for almost as long and his it was taking what functional brain cells he had left from trying to not beg because he’d learned the hard way that begging made Gabriel an even bigger tease.

“Sadist,” he gasped as Gabriel lazily jerked him, watching Ketch’s cock twitch in his hand with an almost clinical disinterest as he waited for just the right moment to let go causing Ketch to curse Gabriel and his father.

“What have I told you about bringing Father in the bedroom?” Gabriel asked as he straddled Ketch.

Ketch failed to bite back a moan, his knuckles were almost white as he struggled to maintain his grip.

“Gabe!” he whined.

“And here I was, all ready to let you fuck me,” Gabriel said mournfully. “Welp, I guess I’ll just have to satisfy myself.” The archangel’s hand wrapped around Ketch’s dick and Ketch felt a tendril of grace wrap around it.

“Oh come on!” he complained.

“It’s only until I’m done,” Gabriel said way too cheerily as he helped nudge Ketch back up to a seated position. “You deserve a good view,” he said with a kiss, which Ketch returned hungrily, tasting the lingering sweetness of the fresh whipped cream.

“Touch me,” Gabriel demanded as the archangel straddled Ketch’s lap and positioned himself so he could sit on Ketch’s cock.

The men groaned as Gabriel slid down.

“Fuck,” Ketch said. “I’m so happy you didn’t draw out your prep time. So good.” Using lube instead of Grace was one of Gabe’s other favorite ways of torturing Ketch when he wanted to make Ketch wait.

“I could still – “ Gabriel began.

“No, no,” Ketch said. “Don’t make me go fetch an angel blade,” he only half-threatened.

“Kinky,” Gabriel said with a grin. “Maybe next time. But for now, shut up, sit still and enjoy the ride.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Ketch gasped as he desperately tried to not grind up into his fiancé. He knew well enough that if he tried, Gabriel would just stop moving. For an archangel, Ketch swore that he was evil.

A few moments later though, Gabriel had an apparently change of heart.

“Touch me,” he demanded.

“Yes, _sir_,” Ketch said all the more enthusiastically as he reached forward to stroke Gabriel in time to the pace that Gabriel set, rubbing his thumb around the head, and smearing the precum there on them both. “Oh look,” he said, “I’m making a mess,” he added before pausing to lick his fingers clean.

Two could play at that teasing game.

“Fuck you,” Gabriel groaned without venom.

Ketch felt quite smug.

“But remember, it’s _my_ grace around your cock,” Gabriel tried to purr, but failed as his rhythm started getting more erratic as the need to come began to override the need to sass.

“Yes, yes, my glorious gold-eyed archangel,” Ketch said. “And it’s almost as magnificent as your cock.” Gabriel had a bit of a praise kink. It was something that Ketch exploited with no shame.

_“Ketch_,” Gabriel’s voice hitched.

“_Gabriel! Now!_”

Gabriel came with a cry as the grace holding back Ketch’s orgasm dissolved too. Ketch grabbed Gabriel’s hips and thrust up two times before spending himself in the archangel’s ass. He leaned back against the headboard panting as Gabriel fell against him. He just kissed Gabriel’s sweaty shoulder. Those pesky emotions would still need to be dealt with, but they already felt more distant and less pressing.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Gabriel asked.

“Making whipped cream was the best idea I’ve had in ages.”

Gabriel’s warm laughter enveloped him.


	2. Chapter 2

Parking around Geezer’s on a Saturday night was always next to impossible, so Ketch pulled his car into the line that’d formed in front of the valet station. His eyes glanced into the rearview mirror where he saw that Chuck was texting.

“You got a phone?” Ketch asked surprised.

“You know how to text?!” Gabriel asked even more surprised.

“Hey!” Chuck objected. “I’m not that out of touch with the times!”

“And when did you teach yourself how to text?” Gabriel demanded.

Chuck muttered something under his breath.

“What was that?” Ketch asked as he took the ticket from the valet.

“Oh don’t you start too!” Chuck grumbled.

“You want me to call you Father, you get to take some of the backtalk,” Ketch replied with a cheeky grin.

“My son is rubbing off on you!”

“Literally and figuratively,” Gabriel agreed as he held open the door to the pub, Chuck making a beeline for the hostess podium. “The reservation is under Chuck Shirley,” he said.”

The hostess gave Ketch and Gabriel an especially bright smile. “Perfect!” she said as she grabbed a couple of menus “Follow me!” She lead them towards the back of the restaurant, turning to head to the party room. Before any one could protest they didn’t need a room that large, she opened the door.

“SURPRISE!!”

Gabriel ran into him as Ketch processed the crowd before them. Somehow, someone – and judging by the grin on Chuck’s face he knew who – someone had gathered all of their friends for dinner tonight. He even spotted Jack and Rowena in the crowd. He almost felt overwhelmed by this show of support.

“Wow. Thank you,” Ketch said as Gabriel nudged him forward.

“You guys are _awesome,_” Gabriel said as he recovered much more quickly than Ketch did. “Look! Presents!”

“You guys shouldn’t have,” Ketch said.

“Don’t even _start_,” Rachel admonished Ketch. “I’ve been pulling for you two ever since you brought him back to the land of the living!” She was the first one of Gabriel’s friends that he’d met and the first to accept him no questions asked. He felt a paternal fondness for her, never mind that their ages weren’t all that far apart.

“Complaint rescinded,” he gamely responded. The notion still felt strange, but he could understand it was out of a place of kindness. He’d just have to get used to the idea that people had those kind of feelings about him.

“I’ve been pulling for you just as long!” Rowena pouted as she approached. “Why don’t I get the same kind of respect?”

Ketch snorted. “Because you wouldn’t respect me?”

“Fair,” she agreed.

“Rachel, meet my friend Rowena. Rowena, this is Rachel. She’s the rare work acquaintance that I’ve kept up with since my career change.”

“Well it was a cut throat industry,” Rowena said with a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you dear, Gabriel has spoken very highly of you.”

Rachel naturally bright smile managed to brighten more. “Really?” she said sounding delighted. “And yet the boys haven’t told me anything about you,” she said as she fixed them with a glare.

“It’s Ketch’s fault,” Gabriel said immediately.

Everyone started laughing as Ketch acted wounded, even though it truly was. For all that he and Gabriel had become “domesticated” he still did compartmentalized his two worlds. It seemed safer that way for the humans who were blissfully ignorant, a part of his Men of Letters training that he’d had no qualms hanging on to.

“I feel so betrayed!” Ketch said. “Just for that, you’ll have to get your own drink!”

“Get me one whatever you’re having!” Gabriel called out. More laughs.

“I’ll go with you so you can protect your dignity and not get him that drink,” Rowena declared.

“My hero,” Ketch declared. “What ever would I do without you?”

“And you’d do well to remember that!” she said as they walked back out into the main restaurant and made a beeline for the bar.

“Thank you for coming,” Ketch said sincerely.

“Think nothing of it,” Rowena said. “It’s not exactly every day one gets invited to a celebrated by God Himself,” she said airily. “Crowley sends his regards. He’s preparing for the CILex and cramming like a mad man.”

Ketch snorted. “Truly?” Ketch said. He hadn’t been in much contact with Crowley as of late. He admired that Crowley had all but separated his life from the Supernatural and could respect that. “Good for him. He’ll be snatched right up if a firm knows what’s good for them.” He nodded at a bartender who indicated he’d seen Ketch and would make his way down in a moment.

“Right?” Rowena said, puffed up with pride. “He’s going to run laps around the lot. I almost pity the ones he goes up against.”

“Almost,” Ketch agreed. “Two scotch please, neat.”

“Make that three,” Rowena added.

The bartender nodded.

“I forgot to say, you look you fantastic tonight,” he praised.

She preened. “Thank you dearie. This is a celebration, is it not?” she asked.

“Indeed it is,” he said as he and Rowena took the drinks and left enough money to cover the drinks and a nice tip. “And celebrate we shall. Gabriel doesn’t need an excuse to party, so I’m sure he will be thrilled to continue on after dinner.”

“Excellent,” she said. “It’s the least you could do given the distance I travelled.”

Ketch snorted. “Indeed.”

Once they made it back to the patio, people had started settling around the table perusing the menu so they could put in their orders.

“Here is the drink that I absolutely did not order for you,” Ketch said as he set it down in front of his fiancé be taking his seat as Rowena sat down on his other side next to Jack.

“He even paid for my drink,” Rowena said as she picked up the menu daintly.

“My knight in shining armor,” Gabriel joked as he kissed Ketch’s cheek, causing Ketch to color a little. He’d never been one for public displays of affection, even ones as small as that.

Jack peered at Ketch. “Are you blushing?”

“Of course not,” he denied, pulling the menu up a little more.

“He totally is,” Gabriel stage whispered. “And I love it.”

“And I hate you both. Why am I marrying you again?”

“Because I announced to the world that I loved you by telling off my brother?”

Ketch couldn’t help but smile at that. “I’ll allow that.” He tried changing the subject. “See anything calling to you Jack?”

“A lot of it looks good, but I don’t know what to get.”

“I recommend the pulled pork mac and cheese,” Chuck recommended. “It has bacon in it too. Super good.”

“There’s nothing green in this dish though,” Jack said frowning.

“Live a little Jack,” Rowena said. “You can do it the once. Sam won’t even know unless you tell him. And Dean will be approve.”

“Bacon…” Chuck sing-songed again.

Jack finally nodded. “I do like bacon,” he agreed.

“That’s my boy!” Chuck said happily as the waitress started taking orders.

“So what’s this story about Gabriel telling off his brother?” Rachel demanded from her place on the other side of Chuck. “You never shared this story before!”

Ketch happily let Gabriel take the lead as storyteller of their agreed upon safe-for-innocent-humans version of their tale as he sipped his drink, surprisingly more comfortable than he thought at all the eyes on them as they laughed and smiled through this rare-for-them romantic revelation. He sent a quick prayer towards Chuck, thanking him for putting this together.

Chuck gave him a small nod and a smile in return.

*

A few hours later Ketch, Gabriel, Rowena and Jack made it back to the house. Chuck had gracefully bowed out at the restaurant, saying he had another engagement – a line of inquiry that neither Gabriel nor Ketch had any real desire to pursue.

“So, boys,” Rowena said once Ketch and Gabriel had set the gifts down on the table to be opened later. “You need to go change.” She eyed Jack. “You too,” she said. “I’m sure Gabriel can whip up something if you need to borrow something.”

“Why?” Jack asked. “Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the Victory Club at the Viceroy.” Rowena announced. “It’s where Ketch sicced your uncle me to get me to do his bidding.”

Jack tilted his head. They’d told him bits and pieces, but not necessarily all of it. Jack wasn’t yet jaded to the world, and they had agreed it was worth trying to help him keep that moral compass that Castiel and the Winchesters had been instilling in him.

“I did not sic him on you,” Ketch protested. “I merely introduced you.”

“He threatened to kill me,” she corrected. “I don’t mind now, of course. It was rather impressive that you managed to pull it off and flattering that you thought you needed such firepower to get me to cooperate.”

“But was I wrong about that?”

“Of course not,” she said.

“They threatened you, but you remained in contact?”

“Your other dads have threatened me much more often,” she reminded him.

Jack frowned. “Oh yeah,” he said. “That’s not normal, is it?”

“No, but neither are any of us,” Gabriel replied. “Besides, sometimes the enemies of your enemies are your friend. It just happened that it worked out for us to keep in touch after we took care of business.” Gabriel clapped his hands. “But enough idle chatter. Do you have any of your fake IDs on you?”

Jack nodded. “They told me to keep one on me at all times, just in case. Why do I need one?”

“Because you’re baby faced, kid, and they’re going to card you.”

“Card me? But I don’t drink?”

“Have you ever tried it?”

“Not really,” he said. “Castiel said there’s no point, because we can’t get drunk without a lot of effort.”

“That’s because Cassie is a big old stick in the mud,” Gabriel declared. “Where there is a will, there is a way and I have the secret, and it’ll wear off by morning.”

“Really?” Jack asked, clearly tempted.

If you don’t enjoy it, you don’t have to keep drinking. And if you do, well, you’ll have fun,” Ketch suggested.

Jack nodded. “Well, when you point it that way,” he said with a nod.

“Excellent!” Gabriel said. “Now let’s get going!”

*

Jack stood at the bar with Gabriel ordered their first rounds. Jack wasn’t sure what he wanted to drink. As he scanned the bar, he noticed a pretty colored drink sitting front of an even prettier woman.

“I’ll have what she has,” Jack finally said.

The woman clearly noticed and flashed him a smile. “Good choice,” she said. “They’re excellent here.”

All of the sudden time froze.

Jack froze. “What’s wrong, Gabriel?”

“Absolutely nothing kid, I just want you to know that I 100% encourage you talking to her. This night is for you to have fun too.”

“But it’s a night for you and Uncle Ketch.”

“We’ll have even more fun rooting for you,” he said with a wink and a clap on the shoulder. “Just come back and find us when you’re ready.

“Okay! Thank you,” Jack said happily as time started moving again.

“My name is Jack,” he said feeling a little more confident now that he didn’t feel like he was abandoning his uncle.

“Vicki,” she returned his greeting.

Gabriel deliberately didn’t listen any more as he collected the drinks for his table and headed back towards the booth.

“Lose Jack so soon?” Rowena asked as she took her drink.

“On the one hand, I want to say I disowned him for ordering a Cosmopolitan,” Gabriel said. “But on the other hand, it caught the eye of the cute lady who had ordered it and they’re chatting and who am I to interfere with that?”

“Oh?” Ketch and Rowena, shamelessly curious but stealthy enough to steal a glance without being obvious about it.

“Oh look at her,” Rowena said approvingly. “She’s a beautiful one.”

“Wait,” Ketch said. “It looks like she has a friend.”

“And she is as pretty. Lucky boy.”

Ketch looked at Gabriel. “Has he even had the talk?”

“Winchester watches enough porn that I can’t see how they haven’t had that conversation.”

Ketch snorted and took a sip of his drink. “What about you, Rownea? Any lucky guy or gal in your life?”

“The occasional fling,” she said, “But that’s fine,” she said dismissively.

Dual pairs of skeptical eyes stared her down.

“Is it though?” Ketch asked. “I know how draining it can be to constantly be on the move and you’ve been doing it for centuries.”

Her lips pursed, as if debating whether she wanted to say anything.

“And if it makes you feel better, my mother just called me the other day, apparently happy that I wasn’t as heartless as my reputation made me out to be. It’s like what we are and what we project out to the world can be two different things.”

Rowena huffed and took a sip of her drink. “Really?”

“Really. Netted ourselves a nice stand mixer out of the deal to boot.”

She snorted. “Going to invite her the wedding?”

He wrinkled his nose. “Now let’s not get _too_ crazy, but besides, we’re missing the point. It’s a rough way to live and you too deserve a chance to get comfortable.”

“Might I remind you that you were one of the people chasing me?”

“You weren’t exactly the most subtle.”

She sniffed. “She deserved it.”

Ketch smiled. “But you are capable of laying low, and Gabriel is excellent at identity forging if you wanted to give that whole settling down bit a try.”

“Ah, saved by the Nephilim,” Rowena with a hint of relief in her voice as she spotted Jack walking towards them with his half-filled cosmopolitan.

“This is fun,” Jack proclaimed. “And this is tasty,” he said indicating his drink before taking another sip.

“How’d it go?” she prompted.

Jack brightened. “Well,” he said happily. “Vicki has a boyfriend, but her friend Amber is single. They were here having a pre-dinner drink. They tried for _nine months_ to get a reservation at some super trendy restaurant so they couldn’t stay. But on the plus side, they live near you guys! Amber gave me her number and we’re going to meet up for dinner next weekend!”

“Way to go, kiddo!” Gabriel said happily.

“Thank you!” He paused. “Wait. What do I wear on a date? What about a car? I can barely drive! What do I –“

“You’ll be fine, Jack,” Ketch reassured him. “But worry later. Right now is a time for celebration and we are all far too sober for such an occasion.”

“Now _that_ is a sentiment I can get behind,” Rowena exclaimed as she held up her glass. “Cheers everyone!”

*

_Why is my phone so loud and why is someone calling so early?_ Ketch groaned as the sound of phone going off felt like a jackhammer going to his temples. He tried to ignore it but the phone just started ringing again only moments after it’d gone to voice mail.

“I’m tempted to kill whomever you are for calling so damn early,” Ketch said as he covered his eyes with one hand. Gabriel wasn’t in bed so it would be a few minutes yet before he could get his hangover cured.

“Dude. It’s 9:00 That is not early. And the feeling is mutual,” Dean replied. “Especially if you don’t tell me what happened to Jack.”

“It is when you’re up to 4:00 drinking.” He sat up and slowly padded his way down the hall to find Jack.

“You took Jack drinking?”

“He’s a big Nephilim,” Ketch said as he peaked into the spare bedroom. He saw mussed sheets, but no Jack. Then the smell of coffee hit. He followed the scent downstairs.

“But angels can’t get drunk.”

“Castiel isn’t a determined Archangel.”

As he approached the kitchen table, he saw the kid looked a little worse for wear. Gabriel must have just healed him because he didn’t look in immediate discomfort, just tired. He knew Jack didn’t sleep that much, but as much as they’d consumed would demand extra sleep of anyone.

“Your dad is checking in,” Ketch said as he handed over the phone. “Ask him to not kill me please.” He accepted the cup of coffee in return. “I’d call you a saint, but we both know you aren’t, Gabriel.”

Gabriel snorted before kissing Ketch’s head and easing the headache. He sighed in relief. “I’ll leave Loki an extra offering later.”

Gabriel grinned more than a little suggestively.

“Oh! Hey Dean!” Jack said. “Sorry. My phone died last night, but not until after I got the number of a cute girl!”

Ketch listened to Jack recount details off the night and suspect that Dean would probably want to yell at him once Jack was done.

“He seemed to have fun,” Ketch said.

“He did,” Gabriel said. “Didn’t care for the hangover part, but also proud that he’s now had one.”

Ketch snorted. “Is it me or does it feel like we have joint custody of Jack and Dean is the bitter ex.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Gabriel said.

Ketch sipped his coffee with a smile on his face. He was marrying into an odd little family, but he couldn’t be happier for it.


End file.
